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Besides being near his suburban Philadelphia home, Jim Daniels has many reasons to love daniels-recordcompeting at Maple Grove Raceway.

During time trials for the Pennsylvania Dutch Classic Thursday, Daniels set a tentative national NHRA Super Stock/A HEMI elapsed time record in his 1968 Dodge Dart with a pass of 8.33 seconds at 157.96 mph on his first run of the day. He then backed it up later in the afternoon with a run of 8.379 at 157.48.

The previous mark was 8.38 at 157.08 set by Charlie Westcott Jr. at last year’s Dutch Classic.

The record should officially be certified after this weekend’s HEMI Challenge at The Dutch. Once the record is official, Daniels will win $2,500 in awards, including $2,000 from Penske Truck Leasing.

The Dart is powered by a HEMI built by Ray Barton Racing Engines, which is based near Maple Grove in Robesonia, Pa.

Daniels backed up his first run on a third try. He had a scary moment on his second attempt, when his front wheels lifted at the starting line and he was forced to shut down his run.

“It’s been a real whirlwind,” said Daniels, who’s a dentist in Yardley, Pa., during the week. “The second hit shook me up a bit, it was a little scary. We made a suspension adjustment.

“They gave me another opportunity after Super Gas ran, and we put (the car) back to when it ran the .33. The air was a little worse.”

Daniels gave credit to his pit crew for helping him bring the car up to speed, especially Ray Barton himself, who was on hand to help tune the car.

“They’ve all been part of the team the whole day,” Daniels said. “’We were able to set a record in Ray’s backyard.”

This is the beginning of a busy weekend for Daniels, who will be trying to defend his HEMI Challenge at The Dutch championship. He also won last month’s HEMI event at Columbus, Ohio.

Racing continues at the Dutch Classic at 9:30 a.m. Friday as time trials continue. The HEMI Challenge is scheduled to run Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p..m. The Dutch Classic runs through Sunday.

'05 RCSB 1500 SLT 5.7 Hemi Ram - 4" ram air from fog light hole - Amsoil drop-in filter - AirAid MIT - Taylor shorty wires - FM 50HD SI/SO 3" Magnaflow y-pipe - General Grabber UHP 295/50 20 tires - Superchips Flashpaq 3815 - Motive 4.56 gears - Detroit Truetrac differential
Lakewood traction bars - PML differential cover - Best reaction time .011 @ Bowling Green
Best 1/8 mile 9.28 @ Bowling Green - Best 1/4 mile 14.51 @ Bowling Green - ETs before gears, DTT, traction bars, improved ram air, and y-pipe